Arend still refused to acknowledge his defeat.

‘I didn’t lose!’

Though he had been taken down in a single blow, it was merely because he wasn’t in peak condition and had been caught off guard. He never once considered himself weak or his opponent overwhelmingly strong. After all, he was the "White Lion" that the Silver Lion Knights prided themselves on.

The White Lion of Pendragon.

It meant he was one of the most outstanding knights of his era! Because of this, he denied his loss and was convinced the outcome would change if they fought again.

‘Even if I can’t deny that the opponent was strong, the result would have been different if I had drawn my sword!’

Arend believed himself to be formidable when he wielded his sword. This unshakable self-confidence had always filled him, even just moments ago.

That was until...

‘W-what… what is that…?’

Arend stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before him, unable to close his mouth.

“Sir Baker? Sir Lehman….”

Baker and Lehman. Though not masters, they were knights with decent strength befitting their titles. And yet…

‘They were brought down that pathetically?’

It was absurd. If they had been ambushed, perhaps it could be excused. But their opponent had charged them head-on, roaring like a wild beast, and the two knights had frozen in place, collapsing as if crushed by an invisible force.

It was as though an intangible energy had enveloped and subdued them.

And that seemed only to be the beginning.

“S-Sir Delin. Sir Temern. Even Sir Tovaros….”

The proud warriors of the 1st Division were falling one after another. Knights who had drawn their swords and charged were effortlessly flung aside like toddlers playfully tossed by an adult.

Even Arend, who would struggle against these knights in battle, was left stunned. Yet, more shocking than the fact that they had been defeated was the manner in which it happened.

“Hah! They keep calling him a troll, and now he thinks he’s an actual troll? How the hell did he get this strong?” “…He’s on a completely different level compared to when I crossed swords with him. I thought I had worked hard, but to think the gap has widened this much….” “This isn’t about you being insufficient. That guy’s growth is just absurd. Still, defeating ‘over a hundred knights’ single-handedly doesn’t seem like something that can be explained by growth alone.”

And not a single injury.

Yes, that monster had effortlessly subdued well over a hundred members of the Silver Lion Knights.

‘What kind of creature is he?!’

Arend’s complexion turned even paler as he realized that, despite the sweat and heavy breathing, the opponent bore not a single wound. And that monster…

“Is there no one else willing to step up?”

“……”

“No one? Then as the victor, I’ll say this: stop bothering me. I’m not interested in your politics, and I want nothing to do with any of you. If you ignore my warning and come at me again, I won’t hold back next time.”

The calm warning resounded in the silent air. He had just threatened the combined might of the 1st and 2nd Divisions—the symbols of royalist and noble faction power.

And yet, no one dared to defy that warning.

His overwhelming strength had made that clear enough.

‘This is insane. He’s not even an Aura User….’

The display alone was enough to evoke comparisons to an Aura User.

The knights could not hide the trembling in their eyes. One knight, his pride clearly wounded, finally spoke up.

“…Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”

“Threats are all well and good, but you need the skill to back them up. Empty threats are worth less than a dog’s bark.”

“?!”

“If it bothers you that much, get stronger. For your information, with your current skill level, you wouldn’t even stand a chance against a single Red Hawk. At least ten of you would have to gang up for it to be an even fight.”

“Y-you…!”

Comparing the Silver Lion Knights to the Red Hawks and claiming they were far inferior left the knights red-faced with humiliation. Even after their devastating loss, they were still Silver Lion Knights—the kingdom’s finest!

It was insulting, and their anger was understandable, but…!

“I told you, if you’re dissatisfied, come at me. Just know this—‘I won’t go easy on you anymore.’”

“……”

The low warning hung in the air, and the knights could now fully understand what it meant to feel one’s hair stand on end.

His sheer presence alone overwhelmed them entirely.

It was a complete defeat for the Silver Lion Knights.

Ihan found himself in the royal prison.

He wasn’t forcibly dragged there. Rather, when trembling soldiers under orders approached him hesitantly and pleaded:

“Um… Could you please… come with us…?”

He had taken pity on their pitiful state and decided to come along.

Even so, upon arriving, Ihan made his stance clear.

“If you don’t prepare a proper meal and bed for me, I’ll tear this prison down.”

“Ah… well…”

“Or should I just finish off the ones still lying around over there?”

“…Would you like anything else, sir?”

Thus, though confined behind bars, Ihan was untouchable. He could bathe in clean water and request anything he wanted from the guards, making his stay surprisingly comfortable.

He figured staying for a day wouldn’t be too bad.

“Hahaha! I knew you’d cause a big scene one day, but this? This is incredible! Hahaha!”

“…Could you laugh a little quieter? My eardrums are about to burst.”

“Hahaha! This is too amusing not to laugh! Hahaha!”

“…I’m going to lose it.”

It seemed peace wasn’t on the agenda.

Every time he laughed, Ihan could feel the vibrations through his entire body, as if standing directly in front of a massive speaker.

‘And they call me the monster? The real monster is right here….’

Before him stood an elderly man with a slight frame, seemingly frail, with white hair reminiscent of withered branches. Yet his vibrant energy and piercing gaze were as intense as that of a young knight.

Baltar.

A living legend, a great hero, and the most powerful knight of Pendragon.

‘So this is how strong he is….’

Ihan shivered. Though he had been through countless life-threatening situations this year, forcing him to grow stronger, standing before Baltar made him acutely aware of the immense gap between them.

It was overwhelming.

‘I thought I’d caught up, but… he’s a hundred laps ahead of me.’

He couldn’t even see the back of his opponent.

“…A man needs to stay humble, after all.”

“You’re realizing that just now?”

“Damn it…”

Even though despair weighed down on him, Ihan didn’t give up.

‘I’ll catch up to this man no matter what.’

Even if the gap seemed insurmountable, Ihan was determined to close it. His resolve burned bright, refusing to falter.

Watching him, Baltar chuckled softly, this time with a warmth that resembled pride.

It was the laughter of someone watching the growth of a disciple or child.

 

Baltar hadn't come to the knight order in the dead of night to scold or mock Ihan.

He wasn’t the kind of person with that much free time.

“You’re totally free, though. You barely do any work and just fool around with your lovers all day.”

“Watch it, boy!”

“…But it’s true, isn’t it?”

“You’ve got a sharp tongue, it seems. Maybe you need a good beating.”

“…I’ll just shut up now.”

Not wanting to spend the rest of the night unconscious, Ihan wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Still, the palace was in complete chaos because of you.”

The incident where 135 knights had been utterly crushed by a single man. Because of this, Baltar, as the nominal commander of the 3rd Division, had been summoned in the middle of the night.

Some were clamoring for punishment against the one who had caused the commotion.

“They should feel ashamed instead. What does it say about the knight order’s standards when over a hundred of them lost to one ordinary knight?”

But Baltar didn’t think Ihan had done anything wrong. Instead, he believed it was more appropriate for the knights to feel humiliated and reflect on their failures.

“They’re fools. If something like this happened during a war, would they waste time pointing fingers? Good grief….”

“…Ahem.”

Ihan shifted his gaze, feeling a twinge of guilt. It was as if he had forced an elderly man who should be enjoying retirement into unnecessary trouble.

He wasn’t entirely blameless, after all.

Though, in his defense…

‘This isn’t entirely my fault.’

Ihan hadn’t intended for things to escalate so much. His original plan had been to lightly discipline a few troublemakers and leave it at that.

But then…

“You scoundrel! Don’t slander us!” “How dare you accuse us of using the prince!” “What an utterly shameless man!”

Their reactions were utterly absurd. The guilty ones, unable to hide their unease, only raised their voices further, making the situation worse.

‘They made this mess themselves.’

After he knocked one of them down, another would step in. Then when that one fell, they called for reinforcements. And when those reinforcements fell, they started shouting:

“An attack! We’re under attack!”

It was absurd. They shamelessly called it an attack and even dragged the 2nd Division into it.

“They even roped in the 2nd Division to back them up?” Baltar frowned. “Truly, they have no shame.”

To not only cover for their own shortcomings but to call for help… It was a disgrace to the knight order.

And yet, the real embarrassment was…

“To be so cowardly and still lose, and then to call me for help… That’s just pathetic. Even mercenaries wouldn’t stoop this low.”

For knights to rely on an elderly man to save them—it was beyond disgraceful.

“What do you think?” Baltar asked.

“About what? The state of the knight order? Or the fact that they lost to me despite outnumbering me?”

“Both.”

“Hmm… Well, they were honestly pathetic. A lot of them barely reached the ‘average’ skill level of knights, and some seemed like they’d stopped training entirely. Those types will probably collapse on their own soon enough.”

Ihan’s observations were sharp. He’d often emphasized external training to the Swordsmanship Department as an instructor. Yet, many of the knights in the Silver Lion Knights seemed to neglect that, focusing solely on internal techniques. Their bodies were fragile, barely able to withstand the strain of their own power.

It might be fine for now while they were young and talented, but as they aged, their bodies would deteriorate. Without the resilience to endure the explosive force of their techniques, they would ultimately self-destruct.

But the bigger problem was…

“I fought another knight order recently.”

“I heard about that. You took down those Red Chicks.”

“…That was supposed to be a secret. How did you know?”

“There are ways. Anyway, what’s your point?”

“I realized this: while the individual skill of knights is important, what matters just as much is their ability to cooperate and trust each other.”

Fighting against the Red Hawks had been a chilling experience for Ihan. He’d learned firsthand the terrifying power of their coordinated tactics and the might of a truly elite knight order.

The thought still sent shivers down his spine.

If they had been just a little more ruthless—abandoning honor and fair play to focus solely on killing him…

The conclusion was clear.

“I’d have died.”

That was how formidable they were. But on the other hand, the Silver Lion Knights…

“They were completely disorganized. Worse, their distrust of each other made them easier to defeat.”

Instead of focusing on the enemy, they were constantly looking over their shoulders, afraid their allies might stab them in the back.

The Silver Lion Knights didn’t trust one another. Instead of comrades, they saw each other as rivals.

“In fact, if I’d wanted to, I could’ve taken them down even faster. Instead of focusing on me, they were busy doing their own thing. It annoyed me so much that I beat them up even harder.”

“Haha.”

“Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, that wasn’t a knight order. They didn’t fight as a unit. I just fought a series of one-on-one duels against weaklings.”

A knight order that weakened itself the more it tried to work together.

In Ihan’s eyes, the Silver Lion Knights didn’t even deserve to be called an order.

Baltar chuckled, seemingly delighted. “You’ve gained quite the perspective. It must be because of your time teaching. In the past, you wouldn’t have noticed such things.”

“…Why are you so happy about this?”

“I’m pleased that you’ve finally come to understand what it means to be part of a knight order. No matter how much I tried to teach you about knighthood and camaraderie, it always went in one ear and out the other. But now, you’ve learned something, haven’t you? Haha!”

“……”

“Maybe it’s time for you to return to the order. I’ll hand over my position as soon as you do. Hahaha!”

Despite the knight order’s humiliating defeat, Baltar seemed only too happy about Ihan’s growth.

He was eager for Ihan to return, believing it was the perfect time for him to reclaim his place and rise to leadership.

With great expectations, Baltar smiled.

“I’m not going back.”

“……?”

Ihan shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not taking the position, either. Why would I bother with such a hassle?”

“…It’s an honorable position.”

“Then give it to someone else. Plenty of people want it.”

“……”

“What?”

“…It seems you’ve grown even more insolent.”

“Wanna fix that?”

“…It has been a while since I’ve disciplined you.”

Their eyes locked. Neither backed down, their gazes crackling with energy, until—!

Boom!!!

The clash was thunderous.

That night, twenty iron bars were shattered in the ensuing battle. And in the end, it turned out that the fight between these two monsters had started over something as trivial as a knight refusing to return to duty and an old commander trying to shirk his workload.